Brighter Than Before
by oncerSM
Summary: Sequel to "Stars and Shining in the Dark" After seven months Iris finally has Barry home except he's not the same as before. Now problems begin to arise as new metas attack Central City and there is no Scarlet Speedster to stop them. AU to Season 4
1. Chapter 1

"Trapped! Help! Please!" Barry yelled out repeatedly in his sleep. The problem was Iris couldn't wake him up, he seemed to be trapped in his nightmare with no way out. They had only had a few peaceful hours of sleep before Iris had woken up, having heard Barry's cries. In his sleep tears poured down his face and Iris could only imagine when he was seeing.

"Barry wake up!" She would say over and over again until after about an hour, he did.

His eyes snapped over and before Iris could comfort him, he had shot across the room with a flash of lightning and was now sitting with his knees to his chest in the corner and shaking so fast he was vibrating. She slowly made her way to him, holding her hands up in front of her as a sign that she wasn't a threat. "Hey Bar, it's okay. It's just me, it's just Iris. You're here" she said softly. "You're with me" Barry looked up, his face wet with tears and etched in complete terror.

Iris made her way on the floor so that she was faced to face with her fiancé. "Barry look at me" she said as she put her hand to his reddened cheek. His dilated eyes searched her face for a few seconds before finding recognition.

"I-Iris?" Barry stuttered.

"Yeah babe," she said. "I'm right here".

"Trapped" Barry said the panic rising in his voice. "Trapped" he repeated.

"No Barry, not trapped" Iris assured. "You're here with me" and she pulled him close wrapping her arms around as tightly as she could. But Barry didn't copy her movements. Instead she lifted his own arms and wrapped them around herself, then regained her grip around him. There they sat, on the floor, together until morning came.

It was at 8:02 that Joe walked into CCPD, nervous about the conversation that was sure to come. He'd been taking about what he'd tell Singh all night. And sure enough, the moment Joe had grabbed on to the metal railing to climb the stairs he heard a voice calling out behind him.

"Joe, can I have a word with you? In my office. Now?" The captain asked. Joe turned around and nodded, knowing that he couldn't avoid this forever.

As he walked in, Singh closed the door behind him and then sat down with his arms folded at the large wooden desk that took up half the office space. "I want the truth, Joe" he said pointedly, it was obvious that he wasn't in the mood to play games, this was serious.

"About Barry, you mean?" Joe asked, knowing that trying to play the innocent card with Singh wasn't a smart idea, he'd known him to long.

"I want to know why a CSI I was told was on sabbatical, was found over 300 miles from here, and why you tried to cover it up" The captain said. Crap, Joe thought. He knew everything.

"David-" Joe began.

"The truth, Joe from beginning" He cut in. And Joe took a deep breath, here goes nothing.

"Seven months ago...Barry just left".

"Left?" Singh asked.

"Iris said she woke up one morning and he was gone. Disappeared" Joe lied straight through his teeth.

"And you didn't think to tell anyone on the force?" The captain asked.

"Well...we didn't think it was unusual" Joe said.

"That he didn't come home that night?" Singh asked. "Or what about after a few days".

"We weren't surprised, I mean me and Iris, that he left" Joe said and somehow the lies grew easier to tell.

"Why not?"

"Honestly David," Joe said. "We'd been expecting it. He's lost so much in this city, it was beating him down. So we he was gone, we all thought he just had enough of everything here, and I honestly I didn't blame him" Joe said sadly.

"And when he didn't contact you for months?" Singh asked.

"I thought maybe he'd had enough of all of us as well. Didn't want to talk".

"So why lie, Joe?" The captain asked, now holding his hands together in front of him with his elbows along the desk. "About the inexistent sabbatical. Why lie to me for

seven months?"

"Because" Joe began and truthfully he didn't know whether to applaud himself for getting this far in his 'story', or to be ashamed. "I guess that was that father in me hoping his son would come back" saying those words made Joe's eyes burn for real with tears, because he did go six months without Barry. He went six months without his son.

Singh looked up at Joe, who couldn't tell what the captain was thinking. Then he spoke. "But then he did come back Joe. Barry came back a month ago according to state police records which state that they found him naked and unconscious. That's not something you hide, Joe" he said.

"I know" Joe said remembering that exact day Singh happened to have been in Coast City. "But something happened to him. He hasn't been speaking, half the time he doesn't even know I'm there. His doctor thinks it might be PTSD" he lied thinking of how Caitlyn spoke about the damage being neurological.

Singh looked at Joe, no longer doubting his story but now looking rather concerned.

"Joe" he said. "PTSD, you need to bring him in to questioning later, for all we know he could've been kidnapped " Singh then stood up from his desk and walked out leaving Joe wondering what the hell he'd gotten Barry into.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know this is my second chapter up in a day but I was so excited to post. I have so many great ideas about what Barry will go through over time. I hope you guys enjoy!**

"So how was he?" Cisco asked the moment Caitlyn had taken Barry out of the room to do yet another test. Iris and Barry had arrived only twenty minutes at Star Labs, both extremely tired after the hard night that had been. Now only Cisco and Iris remained in the cortex as Wally had school and Joe at work. "Honestly" he added.

"It was..." Iris began, looking for her choice of words. "Just his first night back" she said simply.

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "That bad, huh?" He asked.

"Nightmares" Iris replied, remembering how scared Barry had been. "I don't know how to help him if he doesn't talk to me!" Iris said with a sudden outburst of frustration.

"Iris-" Cisco started with a low voice.

"I'm sorry, I know it's not his fault" Iris replied with a quieter tone, feeling extremely embarrassed that she had gotten mad at Barry for something that wasn't under his control. "We just need to find a way to get through to him, to help him get better" she said while looking towards the new bright red Flash suit on display, wondering if he'd ever get to wear it.

"Well, if anyone can do that, it's you" Cisco said picking up an overly large pack of chips and stuffing a hand full into his mouth. "What?" He said, chips literally falling down his front. "Stress eating. You want". Cisco then passed her the bag but Iris shook her head just as Caitlyn and Barry were making their way back to join the two of them.

"Hey Barry?" Cisco said. "You want some chips?" He called out with a huge smile. But Barry wasn't looking his way, instead he too found his gaze locked on the new suit.

"You like it?" Cisco asked, walking over to the display and making sure the suit was perfectly aligned in its place.

"Run?" Barry asked to no one in particular.

"That's actually a good idea" Caitlyn said. "I've been giving you every test imaginable to make sure your body is healthy, but we've never tested you speed yet".

"That may have to wait" Joe said, walking in at a rapid pace and looking at a breath. "Singh wants Barry at the precinct now for questioning".

"What?" Iris asked. "Singh knows that Barry's back?!"

"Yeah and he's knows that he hasn't been on a seven month sabbatical and I just had to do a whole lot of lying to give my story of events" Joe said.

"And now he wants to talk to Barry" Cisco guessed.

"Barry's in no state to go for questioning, Dad" Iris said, her eyes glancing towards her fiancé who still seemed to be observing the red suit.

"I know, but he has to ,baby girl" Joe said. "You can come with us but we should probably go now, I told Singh I'd bring Barry in after my lunch break".

"Barry" Iris said, tapping his shoulder lightly. "We need to go to-"

"Heard" Barry replied which a small tap to his left ear, which was a sort a slap in the face to her, as that meant he'd been listening to what she'd just said, that was a great way to boost his self confidence, hearing that he wasn't capable of answering some questions.

Cisco laughed. "Well, ok" he said and then he shoveled down another handful of chips.

"Iris, Barry," Joe said looking at his wrist watch. "We need to leave now".

"Barry, come on" Iris said, taking his hand in hers like she'd done the other day to bring him home.

Iris didn't know what would happen when they walked into the police precinct with Barry. But she certainly didn't except the entire place to fall silent the moment he was seen. Everyone here knew Barry, and any new cops that had joined in his absence at least knew about him. Youngest and best CSI that the force had, always the first to finish his cases and never let a detail go on touched. But it'd been seven months since Barry Allen had been seen at CCPD, not counting when Cecile had brought him in. She had led him in through a back entrance, and Cisco had erased the security footage from room as well. Caitlyn had made a strong cleaning solvent and Wally had superspeeded the room clean. No one had seen Barry on that day, and even if they had, they wouldn't had recognized him.

But everyone saw him right now, walking through the doors hand in hand with Iris. Word had probably gotten out that Barry was not on the said sabbatical and Iris could only think of the rumors that must be spreading.

Once the silence had broke, a few officers came up to him, patted him on the back, told him they were happy to see him, and hoped that he was here to stay, though it wasn't like Barry noticed though. He walked around with the same wide eyed gaze as he did in both their apartment, and Star Labs, trying to take in the whole place at once. He only stopped when he reached the wall almost covered in picture frames, the wall of the fallen. His eyes finding the picture that Iris avoided seeing every time she came to CCPD.

"Eddie" Barry muttered as if he'd just remembered his name now, and then he turned away.

"Allen?" Said a voice from behind. Captain Singh stood standing at the entrance to the right hallway, which Iris knew led to an interrogation room. And he motioned for them to follow. When they reached the room, Joe made his way to enter it before Barry but Singh held his hand up.

"No Joe" Singh said. "This has to be Barry, but you can stay out here and watch" he told him pointing to the one way glass panel that would allow him to watch.

"At least let Iris go in with him, please" Joe asked. Singh looked towards Iris who still had held her hand tightly with Barry's, unwilling to let go.

"Fine, Joe. But he answers the questions" Singh said as he went in, a tape recorder in hand.

Looking into the room, Joe saw another woman sitting next to Singh. She was a new detective and had just joined a month ago, around the time that Barry had returned.

"Who's that?" Iris asked, looking through the window.

"Danny Carters. She joined a couple weeks back" Joe said. "You two better go in. I'll be right here" He told them nervously. It would all be fine unless Barry said too much, which was doubtful seeing as he still had trouble saying more than one word at a time. But saying too little wouldn't help him either and as Joe watched his kids go in and sit in the two folding chairs awaiting them, all he could do was just hope for the best.

 **Please like this story, follow and leave reviews (because they make my day)! One again I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

 **until next time,**

 **OncerSM**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Allen" Detective Carters began, "Where have you been for the past six months?" She asked with a pen in her hand and pad of paper in front of her.

Barry didn't answer, he didn't even seem to have heard her. Iris glanced nervously, from Singh, to the detective and then back to Barry.

Under the table she squeezed his hand. "Barry" she whispered. Nothing.

"Mr. Allen, did someone take you? Force you to leave Central City?" the detective asked as she wrote something down on her paper.

"He-" Iris began, trying to speak for Barry.

"No" Singh said. "Ms. West, you're here on a favor for Joe. But Barry needs to answer the questions. We're just trying to help him" Iris nodded, regaining her silence and wishing Barry would talk, or even look at the one of the cops. Instead his eyes had a clouded look to them and were unfocused.

"Why didn't you contact your family?" Carters asked, now trying a different question. "Why didn't you-"

"Trapped" Barry suddenly spoke, now staring directly at the detective.

"Trapped?" Singh repeated. "By whom? Where?" He asked. And Iris was afraid of what Barry say next.

"Dark" Barry muttered, his hands went to his head as if in pain. Iris grabbed hold of one of his arms, trying to calm him down. This is why the Team didn't want to ask Barry about his time in the Speedforce. The last thing they needed was him to have another panic attack, and as things were looking, he was very close to that now.

"It was dark?" The detective asked, as she scribbled more words. "Do you have any idea who did this to you?" She asked. "Did you see anyone's face?" but Barry didn't respond.

"How did you escape?" Singh asked. Now that they got the kid talking he didn't want to stop. "After all that time how did you get out?"

"Ran" Barry replied.

"You...ran?" The detective asked, looking down at her notes one more.

"I thinks that enough for right now" Singh said standing up and Iris felt like she could breath again. And when their eyes met he gave Iris a sympathetic look that was almost pity. He saw how broken Barry was.

Walking out of the interrogation room Iris locked her arm with Barry holding him tight, as Joe met up with them. "I think that went well" he muttered quietly.

"As well as it could've" Iris replied. "How do you feel, Barry?" She asked.

"Fine" Barry replied although he looked the opposite, like he was nauseous.

"Hey, why don't we get coffee?" Iris suggested. "Then we'll go back to Star Labs" Barry nodded.

"That's sounds like a good idea" Joe said. "I need to get back to work, though. You two come by for dinner tonight okay?" He said.

"Of course, Dad" Iris said placing a kiss on her father's cheek. "Come on Barry" she said.

About half an hour later they arrived back at Star Labs, coffee in hand and it seemed Caitlyn, Cisco and now Wally, in a white Star Labs tshirt, had been waiting for them, not in the cortex but in the speedlab

"How'd it go?" Wally asked and Iris shook her head as a way of saying she didn't want to discuss it right now.

"What were you guys doing down here anyways?" Iris asked.

"Just a training session with the ol' Kid Flash here" Cisco said, putting a hand on Wally's shoulder.

"Well now that Barry's back I really want to test out his speed" Caitlyn told them.

And then within minutes Barry was standing at the starting point, wearing the same shirt as Wally and sneakers. Caitlyn held a tablet in her hand, ready to check his vitals and the rate of his speed, while Cisco had a stop watch and Wally and Iris watched.

"Ok" Cisco called out. "On the count of three. One, two-" But Barry was already off, speeding down the track season so fast, he was merely an orange blur.

"Woah" Caitlyn said, staring down at her tablet.

"How fast is he going?" Iris asked, her hair whipping around her from the gusts of wind Barry was creating.

"Over mach 240" Caitlyn said in awe.

"I've never gone that fast" Wally said although he wasn't upset, or jealous if anything he was happy for his brother, Barry needed this.

Then Cisco called out in a worried voice. "Guys, look" he said pointing to the blur that was Barry. For the colors of his lightning began to shift, darkening to red like the Reverse Flash and then brightening to a blinding blue, almost white, like Zoom or Savitar. And then the lighting sputtered out completely, the wind stopped, and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed across the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok so I apologize for this extremely short chapter but I do have a much longer one coming up soon so get excited.**

"Barry!" Iris yelled and the group ran to where he lay, in the middle of the race track, unconscious.

"Please tell me you guys all saw that?" Cisco said as Iris leaned over the speedster's body.

"You mean the fact that he can run faster then any speedster ever, or that his lightning changed colors like a kaleidoscope?" Caitlyn asked, looking at her tablet screen.

"Both" Cisco said. "How are his vitals?"

"They were good... until they slipped. Did he eat today, Iris?" Caitlyn asked.

"Actually no" Iris said, remembering how that morning breakfast had been a quiet one as Barry hadn't been in a talking mood and quietly sipped on a cup of black coffee, something that he hated before he went into the Speedforce.

"He was running so fast, must be why he fainted" Cisco said, just then Barry began to stir. Slowly opening his eyes, he sat up.

"Fast?" He murmured.

"Yeah buddy" Cisco told him. "You ran super fast, and then you passed out" he added.

"Sorry" Barry said quietly.

"Don't be" Cisco said, helping him stand up but Barry wasn't steady on his feet.

"Let's get you back to the cortex" he said, letting his friend lean on him for balance while using his other hand to open a portal.

"Joe, what do you think about pasta for tonight?" Cecile called from the kitchen, while Joe sat on the sofa, a newspaper in hand. Except he wasn't reading the paper and he wasn't answering Cecile, because he was currently lost in thought.

"Joe?" Cecile asks, as she sat down next to him. "You're thinking about Barry" she guessed.

"I'm always thinking about it Barry" Joe said putting down the neglected paper. "You know Singh talked to me today and after Barry left" he said and she could tell that this is what Joe's been wanting to talk about.

"What happened?" Cecile asked.

"Told me he'd get a team on Barry's case, but he also gave me a list of therapists that specialize in PTSD and trauma" Joe looked up.

"What're you thinking?" She asked.

"That maybe, I don't know, a therapist might be a good idea" He told her.

"How's he been Joe?" Cecile asked. "I mean, since waking up" she thought of how he appeared a month ago at CCPD, confused in his mind.

"He's still so lost" Joe admitted, "And Iris, she's trying so hard with him but it's like half the time he's in his own head".

"It's only been a couple of days, you should give him time" Cecile said.

"And if time doesn't help?" Joe asked but Cecile had no response.

"Come on" Joe eventually said. "Lets go set up for dinner, Iris and Barry will be here any-" but just then Joe's cell rang. "Hello?" He asked. "Hey Iris...oh ok...no, it's fine. Good night" Joe said putting down his cell.

"I take it Barry and Iris aren't coming?" Cecile asked.

"No, they had a bad day, Iris said there just gonna stay home" Joe said sadly.

"Another night" Cecile reassured.

"Yeah, another night" Joe repeated, as he leaned down on her shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

**Im so sorry for not posting but I've been extremely busy with school. To make up for it I have a very long chapter all written down and ready. Enjoy!**

Iris could see he was trying. Trying to act more normal, more like Barry. The problem was it was difficult for him, to talk more than one word at a time, to not forget how to do the most simplest tasks, and to not lose his touch of reality. But his efforts didn't go unnoticed, not by the Team and not by Iris. Within a few days of his return, they fell into a routine. Iris began working from home and everyday her and Barry would go to Star Labs, feeling that it was better for him to be out of the house. Joe would come by on his lunch break or sometimes phone in to see how everyone was doing. Caitlyn even started doing speech therapy with Barry, trying to help him talk more.

"Ok ready?" She asked sitting next to him in the cortex. "Try to take it slowly. I want you to say: "My name is Barry Allen".

"-and I'm the fastest man alive!" Cisco added with spin of his chair he sat on, his hands up.

"Yeah, don't worry about saying that part" Caitlyn told him, putting a comforting hand on his arm and putting on a warm smile.

Barry took a deep breath, "my..." he started but then stopped, while putting a hand to his forehead as if trying to think. A few seconds later he shook his head.

Caitlyn had said that his inability to speak was probably just another side effect of his time in isolation, another reason of his bad memory.

"Hey, it's okay" Iris said, wanting to be able to help him more then by just saying a few words of comfort. But there was nothing she could do.

One morning, exactly a week after Barry's home coming Iris woke to find his side of the bed empty. Immediately she felt her stomach drop and her heart start racing, as she imagined all the worst case scenarios that she could.

"Barry?" Iris called out, but with no response. Then she smelled something burning.

Iris ran down the stairs two at a time in only a tank top and shorts, not even having bothered to throw on her robe or put anything on feet. And then she saw him, hovering over the stove, surrounded by a hazy cloud of smoke. "Barry?" She called again. He turned around holding a frying pan and a spatula and with the biggest smile on his face. "Breakfast" he said.

On the counter top was a plate filled with almost perfect round pancakes yet Iris could see the garbage can piled high with burnt ones, charred black. That must've been where the smoke came from. Iris saw that even the table was set, mismatched silverware, tablecloths and all. And it all gave one simple message: he was trying.

"Babe-" Iris said. "You...did all this?" She asked, pulling out a chair from the table and taking a seat. He nodded, turning off the fire and placing the pan in the sink. Barry then picked up the plate of pancakes and set it on the table before joining her.

"I love you" she said placing a kiss on his cheek and Iris knew, that if he could, he'd say it back.

Suddenly a loud alarm sounded from Iris's phone. "Meta?" Barry asked.

"Yeah" Iris said. "We gotta-" but in the familiar flash of lightning Barry and Iris were both standing fully dressed. The clothes weren't exactly matching, very much like the table but Iris couldn't very much argue as they needed to get to Star Labs immediately.

"Guys whats going on?" Iris asked running into the cortex, where Cisco ,Caitlyn and Joe already stood.

"Bank robbery" Cisco said looking at the computer screen. "Wally's already on it".

"Doesn't look like it" Iris said as she moved Cisco out of the way. "Wally, she's getting a way in a Prius!" She called through the communications system.

"Last I checked, Kid Flash is faster than a Prius" Wally said and Iris could imagine the grin on his face as he ran. But just then a yell could be heard from the speedster.

"Wally. What happened?" Iris asked.

"I tripped. On marbles" he said hesitating the last line. "She got away".

"Sounds like something straight out of a cartoon" Cisco said but he wasn't smiling.

"Someone want to tell me how that happened?" Wally asked, though not through the coms. Instead he now stood in the cortex after coming in a blur of yellow lightning.

"This girl walking into the bank like she owned the place with no one able to stop her? I don't know?" Cisco said. "Found her" he announced looking up from the tablet that he held in his hand. "Her name is Rebecca Sharp, goes by Becky, and get this; she wasn't in Central City four years ago" Cisco said.

"Same as Kilgore" Iris said, then she looked towards her currently silent fiancé. "He was a new meta we fought, when you were...away" but Iris doubted he was listening. A vacant expression was on his face and his eyes were glanced up at the ceiling.

"What I wanna know is where all these new metas are coming from? Unless there from different Earths?" Joe asked.

"No. Both her and Kilgore are from here" Cisco said.

"So how did they get there powers?" Iris asked.

"Bus" Barry said. He'd been quiet since the short lived breakfast that he and Iris had, but only now spoke.

"What?" Iris asked, not sure if she quite heard him.

"Bus" He repeated, his facial expression was nothing like the blank expression he had on before and his eyes were locked on hers. And this time he said it with a sudden urgency that Iris hadn't heard him use for a long time.

"What bus?" Cisco asked.

"Speedforce" Barry insisted, everyone stared at him wondering if this was just him saying nonsense once more. Everyone except Iris.

"There was a bus in the Speedforce?" Cisco asked skeptically, though not daring to laugh.

"Bus" Barry repeated, his hands going to both sides of his head, clutching it in pain. He was trying to say something and Iris knew it.

"Barry" she said, going on her knees to be level with him in his chair.

"Iris, I don't think he-" Joe began.

"No dad!" Iris said whipping her head around to see her father. "He knows something" And then she turned back to face Barry. "Try Barry" she said. But instead of answering he pushed himself up from his chair and almost ran to the computer screen. His fingers began rapidly typing on the keyboard, the images on the screen were no more then a blur of color. And then he stopped, taking a step back from the monitor, his breathing heavy. Cisco and Iris were the first to step forward.

"What is it?" Iris asked, looking at what Barry was so desperate to show.

"It's a heat signature for a Central City bus" Cisco said. "Each of those red dots represent a human body" he told them.

"What does that have to do with the new metas?" Wally asked.

"I don't know" Cisco answered, slightly doubting that this had any meaning, remembering the last time he tried to translate Barry's words.

"Wait," Iris said. "Look at the date" she pointed to the top corner of the screen.

"October 10th 2017" Caitlyn read aloud.

"That's the day Barry came out of the Speedforce" Joe said.

"Cisco" Iris began. "You don't think that when we let Barry out, some dark matter could've come with him?" She asked.

"Yeah. And how much do you wanna bet that this busload of people was in the line of fire when that happened?" Cisco asked.

"My fault" Barry said quietly, the first real two consecutive words they've heard him speak.

"No it's not" Joe said, looking at his son. "It's ours, Bar. You're the one that helped us out" at that Barry smiled.

"But now we have twelve new metahumans to deal with" Caitlyn said, eyeing the twelve red dots on screen.

"Well eleven actually. Kilgore is locked up" Cisco said. "And now we have Becky whatever her last name is, to deal with. And she's a real hazard. Hazard" Cisco looked up and high fived Caitlyn. He even went to high five Barry but it seemed as if the speedster was much more interested at looking at the dry erase board to the groups left.

"Yeah, Iris can I talk to you for a minute?" Joe asked looking towards his daughter.

"What, sure dad" she said, taken by surprised of the abruptness of the question, especially now. But she followed him into the hallway wondering what this could be about.

"Dad?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"How's Barry been doing?" Joe asked.

"You sure this is the time now?" Iris asked looking back into the cortex.

"Well, I've been the thinking" Joe said taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolding it. Then he handed it to her.

"These are therapists" Iris stated, her eyes scanning the paper.

"Good ones too, Singh recommended them" Joe said. "But...there's something else I was thinking" he added slowly, "I think we should get Barry an aid".

"An aid?" Iris said resisting the urge to rip up the paper in her hand. "Dad he's not..." but what word to describe what Barry wasn't could not come to her. Iris fell into silence.

"Plenty of sane people need help, Iris" Joe said, filling in what was currently in her mind. "But I was just thinking, that once you go back to work I don't think we should leave him alone. And I think this would be good for the both of you" Joe reasoned.

"Barry wouldn't want this" Iris said.

"I think he needs this, Iris" Joe said. "And so do you. Might make things easier".

"What are you talking about?" Iris asked.

"I know this may be hard on you, Iris. Having him back like this, you two were going to get married-"

"Were?" Iris was yelling now.

"I just thought-"

"That because he was different, I wouldn't want to marry him? Or that Barry wouldn't want to marry me?" Iris asked.

"Iris" Joe said.

"I've been planning that day for the past seven months and I'm not canceling it now" Iris said. "And we're not getting him an aid".

Barry and Iris went back to their apartment after the fight. Iris had an article to write so Barry decided to draw, the same shapes as always, again and again. When she was finished Iris pulled out her wedding planner and joined Barry on the couch. For the rest of the afternoon they went through the whole book, Iris reading off what she had written and Barry, more often then not, staying silent. She couldn't get her father's words out of her head and as Iris thought about it more, maybe a therapist was a good idea but she wouldn't bring Barry to speak to a random stranger without telling him first and as she looked at him Iris could see that this wasn't the time.

"Thank you for the breakfast by the way" Iris told him later that night. Barry looked at her and smiled. "I'm going to go make some coffee, you want?" She asked, pulling herself up from the armchair which she sat in. But as she walked to the kitchen and picked up the metal tin that usually held her favorite brand she found it to be empty. Barry noticed and before she could stop him, he was gone in a blur. "It's raining!" She called after him as the door swung close, waiting for the few seconds later when he'd come back drenched but grinning. Except those seconds past and Barry didn't return. Then a minute, then five. Iris didn't allow herself to worry, thinking that there was possibly a line at CC Jitters. But a voice in the back of her head told her that at almost nine o'clock a line at a cafe, on a weeknight no doubt, wouldn't be so likely. And yet Iris waited, watching the clock and waiting for her speedster to return.

As the half hour mark passed Iris knew something was wrong. Someone who can run faster than the speed of sound doesn't take that long to come home, no one does. She had just decided to reach for her phone to call Cisco or Caitlyn when a gust of wind blew in with a flash of orange lightning.

"Barry!" She said, but when she saw his soaked figure standing there, the lighting around him appearing to be sputtering out like a broken flashlight, Iris knew something was wrong.

 **Thanks for reading, please leave reviews and tell me what you think!**

 **Oncersm.**


	6. Chapter 6

Barry was hurt. Tears poured down from his eyes, one of which was bruised, same as the whole left side of his face. His hands were grasped on to his ribs, hands which were cut up...and bloody.

"What happened?" Iris asked as she went to his right side, the one that appeared to be less hurt. He smelled of rain water and dark roast. And he was shaking, a look of sheer terror still etched on his face.

"Barry" She said slowly. "I need you to tell me what happened" and in response Barry pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. For a second she thought it was only a crumpled piece of plastic, until she realized it was a lid for a coffee cup.

"Car" he said in such a small voice that Iris felt like crying as well. How does the fastest man alive get hit by a car? She thought. Unless he blacked out while crossing the street, and went into one of his mind fazes...

"Oh my God, Barry" Iris said, pulling off hood so she could see his face better. In the light it looked worse.

"Hurt" he replied and before Iris could catch him, he collapsed, sprawled across the floor. Quickly Iris reached for her phone while bending down to check Barry's pulse. It was faint. She then pressed Caitlyn's name so hard she almost broke the screen.

"Iris?" Came a voice from the other line.

"Caitlyn, Barry's hurt and I need your help now!" Iris basically yelled.

"I'll be right there" she said.

A half an hour later almost the entire team stood back in the cortex of Star Labs, well everyone except Joe who Iris couldn't bear to call and Harry who had gone on a small trip back to Earth-2 . Wally stood in the corner, his hands in his pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Iris repeatedly sat down and got back up from her chair multiple times as if she couldn't decided which position she preferred. Cisco walked back and forth with his hands running through his messy dark hair. "What happened?" He asked, coming to stand still and looking up at Iris.

She hadn't exactly told them. All they knew was Barry was hurt, and nothing else.

"It...it was a car" Iris stuttered as tears filled her eyes. "We were out of coffee in the loft and...he went out...before I could stop him".

"Someone should call dad" Wally said.

"No" Iris said. "Not yet" Iris said, hands on her forehead. Her dad knew something like this would happen, and because Iris didn't listen Barry was hurt because of it.

"Iris" Wally said.

"No. Ok, we'll figure this out" Iris said as she walked over to Barry and grabbed his hand. He squeezed back, gently. His eyes open just the slightest bit.

"Try" he whispered. But it wasn't advice for her to take, it was what he was already doing.

"I know babe" she said, not noticing the tear that had slipped down his cheek. "But right now I think you should rest" Iris then placed a light kiss on his forehead and walked out of the medbay, together with Caitlin and Cisco while Wally stayed behind to watch over Barry.

"Iris" Caitlin began slowly. "He can't keep going like this".

"I know" Iris replied.

"We're trying to help him here but it's not working. This time it was some bruising, a few broken ribs, but next time?" She asked.

"Caitlin's right, Iris" Cisco added quietly. "We can't do this alone, he needs to see a therapist. A real one. Joe said that Singh gave him a list?"

"How did you know that?" Iris asked, remembering the conversation with her dad.

"Well you two weren't exactly speaking quietly" Cisco said shrugging.

"Fair enough. But you guys are right, he needs help, professional help" Iris admitted.

"Hey, we're here for you, if you need it" Caitlin offered.

"Thanks Cait" Iris replied but all she could think about was the inevitable conversation with her father that she desperately wanted to avoid.

Thanks to the rapid regeneration in his cells, Barry's ribs were healed in less than six hours, as he slept. The bruising, as Caitlin told Iris, would take until the next day to fade completely. And after this accident no one wanted to let Barry out of their sight, but seeing as Iris decided that the two of them would stay at Star Labs the rest of the night and probably hang out there the next day this matter wasn't really a problem. Iris had indeed called Joe that night which led to a not to easy conversation to have. It did make him feel a bit better when Iris told him that she and Caitlin would be calling a few therapists the next day, after telling Barry about the idea first, and luckily Iris managed to convince him to stay home that night and to come to Star Labs in the morning.

"Morning" Cisco yawned as he jumped through a breech into the cortex carrying many cups coffee from Jitters. Iris excepted hers with a small smile but she felt a knot in her stomach tighten as she smelled the dark roast and remembered the events of last night. She then walked over to the main computer table and lightly tapped a sleeping Caitlin on the shoulder, who jolted awake almost instantly.

"What time is it?" She groaned.

"7:46" Iris said checking her phone. "But we got coffee" Caitlin smiled gratefully taking the sweet smelling drink.

"Um, I got the coffee" Cisco pointed out. "Breached there and everything".

"Right. Correction, Cisco got the coffee" Iris said rolling her eyes in Cisco's direction. Just then they all heard a small groan as Barry made his way slowly into the cortex, one hand at his ribs and the other holding his notepad and a pen as he walked.

"Hey Barry" Cisco said, brightening up as he made his way over to help his best friend. "How're you feeling?"

"Terrific" Barry replied.

"Sarcasm? This early in the morning? That's a good sign" Cisco said putting an arm around Barry's waist. Barry smiled.

"And three syllables!" Cisco joked, but Barry stopped smiling, thinking his friend was making fun of him. Iris and Caitlin both gave Cisco the same stern look. "Ok, not funny. I get it" Cisco assured, helping Barry into the chair next to Caitlin. "But seriously Barry that's good".

"Anyways Bar..." Iris started knowing that she'd have to ask Barry about the therapy thing today at some point so she might as well do it now. He didn't answer though and one look down at her fiancé and she saw he was already drawing away. But Iris continued, hoping he was listening. "So I had this idea, well technically it was my dad who had the idea but anyway we'll only do it if you agree" Iris took a deep breath while Cisco and Caitlin merely listened in.

"How would you feel about going to therapy?" She asked. Almost Barry dropped his pen on the table and looked up at Iris and gave her such a stare that she felt so guilty for bringing up the idea at all.

"It doesn't have to be alone, Bar. I could be there with you and stay the whole time" she offered but really Iris hoped from the beginning he'd want her to come.

"Not...crazy" Barry was able to stutter out.

"Hey, no one said that, Bar" Cisco said from the side. Caitlin nodded.

"We just think this might be good for you" Caitlin added.

Barry looked at the trio though none of them could tell exactly what he was thinking. But eventually he nodded. "Thanks Bar" Iris said taking his hand, hoping this wasn't a horrible decision on her part.


End file.
